Easy Fresh Milled Flour Cookies
Delicious but easy! You’ll love this freshly milled flour cookie recipe. The cookies are thin, crispy, subtly sweetened with honey or maple syrup, and scented with warm vanilla before being topped with melted chocolate. Of course, you can also skip the chocolate and keep them plain! I’ll show you how to temper the chocolate if you want to, or you can keep it basic and just melt your favorite bar. These whole-grain cookies have been tested with various flours, so check out the list below the photo.
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Fresh Milled Flour Cookie Recipe At A Glance
- Tested Flours: freshly milled soft white wheat flour, freshly milled spelt flour, freshly milled rye, store-bought organic whole wheat, store-bought medium rye, and store-bought white rye.
- Leaven: None
- Time Needed: 30 minutes.
- Yield: About 30 biscuits.
- Sourdough Version: In Development.
Enjoy your biscuits with a hot cup of coffee (dipped!), tea, or warm bedtime milk.
You can also use them crushed up as the base of many recipes, like the crust for cheesecakes and cheesecake bars or tarts. Any recipe that calls for graham crackers can typically be subbed with these cookies.
Are you new to fresh milled flour? Check out my beginner-friendly guides on the topic, Milling Flour at Home: Everything a Beginner Needs to Know and 12 Tips For Baking With Freshly Milled Flour (Including Sourdough).
Equipment
- Flour Mill: I own, love, and highly recommend the KoMo Fidibus Medium Grain Mill.
- Scale: Optional. I highly recommend you use a simple digital scale for the best possible results. I include both cups and weights for this cookie recipe, but a scale will always provide better results, especially when switching around with flours. I have used my simple OXO digital scale for years and highly recommend it.
- Rolling pin.
- Baking sheet.
- Bowls, spoons, cups.
- Parchment paper.
- 3-inch biscuit or cookie cutter.
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Ingredient Notes, Variations, & Substitutions
- Chocolate: If topping these cookies with melted chocolate, I recommend choosing a high-quality chocolate you enjoy eating. You can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
- Sweetener: Instead of honey, use an equal amount of maple syrup. You can also use 3/4 of a cup of white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, or maple sugar instead.
- Extracts & Flavoring: Instead of vanilla extract, use your favorite flavor extract, such as maple, butterscotch, coffee, etc.
- Spices: Add a teaspoon (or more) of cinnamon, espresso powder, and a dash of freshly grated nutmeg.
- Nuts: Top the melted chocolate with chopped nuts. Almonds and hazelnuts are my favorite.
Instructions With Step-by-Step Photos
Step 1: Gather your ingredients and tools so they are at hand. Preheat the oven and prepare the baking sheet. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the freshly milled flour and salt. If you’re adding any dry spices, add them now.
Step 2: Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture. Use your fingertips or a pastry blender to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Alternatively, pulse in a food processor until you achieve the desired texture.
Step 3: Mix the honey and vanilla extract into the milk and add it to the dough until evenly distributed throughout the mixture. The texture will be sticky but should start to come together. The dough will be fairly stiff but pliable.
Rest the dough in a covered bowl; a lid or damp tea towel is best. You want to fully hydrate the freshly milled flour and soften the sharp bran — and this is also true if you’re using whole wheat or whole grain from the store. Do this for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 2 hours at room temperature.
Step 4: Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to approximately 5mm (1/4 inch) thickness or less. Cut out the biscuits using a round biscuit cutter (about 7.5cm or 3 inches in diameter).
Gather and re-roll the scraps to make even more cookies.
Step 5: Place the cut-out cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them slightly apart. Use a docking tool to create holes. You can also use a fork or toothpick. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden and firm to the touch.
Allow the biscuits to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6: Spoon a dollop of melted chocolate onto each fully-cooled digestive biscuit. Use a fork to gently spread the chocolate and create wavy textures on top.
Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature or in a cool, dry place. The tempered chocolate will harden with a glossy finish and crisp snap.
Tempered chocolate can be kept at room temperature without melting; melted chocolate that has not been tempered will have a dull appearance and melt quickly.
I will provide tempering and simple melting instructions in the printable recipe card below; it’s up to personal preference.
Ingredients
- 500 grams freshly milled soft white wheat flour about 3.5 cups
- 300 grams whole milk About 1 1/4 cups, you may need more, add it after the butter if that is the case
- 120 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed about 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon
- 85 grams honey or maple syrup about 1/3 cup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 200 grams high-quality dark or milk chocolate about 7 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet: Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the freshly milled soft white wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Incorporate Butter: Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture. Use your fingertips or a pastry blender to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Alternatively, pulse in a food processor until you achieve the desired texture.
- Add Liquids: Mix the honey vanilla extract into the milk and then add to the dough until evenly distributed throughout the mixture. The texture will be sticky but should start to come together. The dough will be fairly stiff but pliable.
- Roll and Cut the Dough: Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to approximately 5mm (1/4 inch) thickness. Use a round biscuit cutter (about 7.5cm or 3 inches in diameter) to cut out the biscuits. Gather and re-roll the scraps to make more biscuits.
- Bake: Place the cut-out biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them slightly apart. Use a docking tool to create holes. You can also use a fork or toothpick. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm to the touch.
- Cool: Allow the biscuits to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
To Temper Chocolate
- Ingredients: 200g (about 7 ounces) high-quality dark or milk chocolate, according to preference.
- Chop the Chocolate: Finely chop the chocolate to ensure it melts evenly.
- Tempering Process: Set aside one-third of the chocolate as “seed” chocolate.
- Melt the remaining two-thirds gently over a double boiler (a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) until it reaches 48°C (118°F) for dark chocolate or 45°C (113°F) for milk chocolate. Remove from heat.
- Add the “seed” chocolate to the melted chocolate, stirring constantly until the temperature cools to 32°C (90°F) for dark chocolate or 30°C (86°F) for milk chocolate. This process introduces stable cocoa butter crystals, ensuring a shiny finish and a firm snap.
- Spoon a dollop of tempered chocolate onto each cooled digestive biscuit. Use a fork to gently spread the chocolate and create wavy textures on top.Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature or in a cool, dry place. The tempered chocolate will harden with a glossy finish and crisp snap.
Melted Chocolate (No Tempering — Simpler, Duller, Softer Texture)
- Ingredients: 200g (about 7 ounces) high-quality dark or milk chocolate, according to preference.
- Melt the Chocolate: Chop the chocolate and melt it gently in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water (double boiler) or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring between each burst until smooth.
- Spoon a dollop of the melted chocolate onto each digestive biscuit. Use a fork to spread the chocolate, creating a wavy texture on the surface.Let the chocolate set at room temperature or place the biscuits in the refrigerator to speed up the setting process. This method results in a softer chocolate coating that may melt more easily at warm temperatures.